I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the secure transfer of confidential records between two facilities remote from each other. More specifically, the invention relates to the secure transmission of electronic confidential records between a computer system at a first transferring facility and a computer system at a second receiving facility.
II. Related Art
For centuries, there has been a need to securely transfer confidential records in a secure fashion and steps have been taken to ensure against unauthorized personnel from gaining access. Trusted couriers have been used to transmit physical copies of documents containing confidential information. Most countries adopted laws long ago designed to protect the confidentiality of documents delivered by postal services. With the emergence of telegraphy and telephone systems (and the use of telephone systems for facsimile transmission), laws were passed and steps were taken to prevent tapping of transmission lines and switches. Various coding and decoding schemes have been employed when radio, telephone or computer networks are used to transfer sensitive or confidential data. Still, breaches have occurred. Such breaches have risen to an epidemic level with e-mail transmissions because copies reside on so many computers connected to the internet. While some messages and documents are encrypted prior to transfer via the internet, current encryption methods have proven to be inadequate. A relatively detailed summary of prior art security measures is found in the “BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION” section of U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,368 granted on Sep. 8, 2009 to Felsher, hereby fully incorporated by reference.
There continues to be a real need for a reliable and efficient mechanism enabling secure electronic transmission of confidential materials. This need exists for the military, for other government agencies, and for many businesses. This need is particularly acute in the medical industry. In the medical industry, confidential patients' records must be routinely transferred between a hospitals or other diagnostic centers and clinics where treating physicians work. Further, prescription information linked to specific patients is by law confidential and is routinely transferred electronically between medical clinics and pharmacies. Such confidential information is often transmitted in an unsecure fashion. When security measures are taken, they are often cumbersome to use or easily circumvented. Thus, there continues to be a real need for a secure and highly automated method and apparatus for electronic transmission of confidential medical information from a first transmitting facility to a second receiving facility.